Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

And what a day it is! Within 24 hours, frumpy London governess Guinevere Pettigrew (McDormand) finds herself out of work and, through a little deception, ends up employed as the personal assistant of a ditzy blond would-be starlet with the unlikely but delightful name of Delysia Lafosse (Adams). Like an accidental Mary Poppins, the unremarkable Pettigrew somehow manages to solve Delysia’s romantic puzzle, which involves three men she has been keeping on the line—a nightclub-owning gangster, a horndog theatrical producer and a charming but broke piano player. Gee, which one do you think she’ll end up with? McDormand and Hinds (as a fashion designer who’s smitten with Guinevere) are both working in a lower key of comedy tinged with, gasp, real emotions. Think of them as the bitters in the Champagne cocktail.